Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

The Trees

by Percival Everett

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Justice, Revenge, Community

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter

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The True Believer

by Eric Hoffer

Publication year 1951

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Wins & Losses, Hate & Anger

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Sociology, Social Science, World History, Psychology, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (1951), by Eric Hoffer, is a philosophical treatise that explores the question of why ordinary people join mass movements and become fanatical devotees of what they perceive as a holy cause. Hoffer argues that prospective fanatics—the soon-to-be true believers—experience personal frustration so intense that their strongest desire is to lose their individuality altogether by surrendering to something greater than themselves. Mass movements exploit this frustration... Read The True Believer Summary

The Unicorn Hunters

by Katherine Arden

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Love, Femininity, Gender Identity, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Place, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy

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The Unworthy

by Agustina Bazterrica, Transl. Sarah Moses

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+

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The Upstairs Room

by Johanna Reiss

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History

The Upstairs Room (1972) is a novel based on the experiences of author Johanna Reiss as a Jewish girl during World War II. The novel follows protagonist Annie de Leeuw and her sister Sini as they hide from the Nazis during the German occupation of Holland. Annie’s story, which is told from her first-person perspective, celebrates human resilience and compassion while exploring themes concerning the loss of childhood innocence, the sacrifices people make during wartime... Read The Upstairs Room Summary

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

by Karina Yan Glaser

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Guilt, Grief, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Nostalgia, Regret, Hope, Art, Music, Literature, Order & Chaos, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Family, Friendship, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Community, Environment, Animals, Food, Place

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Urban Development, Special Occasions, Modern Classic Fiction

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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

by Sangu Mandanna

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Perseverance, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Loyalty & Betrayal, Community

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism, Education, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Parenting, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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The Wall

by John Lanchester

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Climate, Environment

Tags Science Fiction, Climate Change, Fantasy

John Lanchester’s The Wall (2019) is dystopian cli-fi (climate science fiction) novel set in a near-future in which severe weather events and rising sea levels destroyed all the shores in the world and created a refugee crisis in countries of the Global South. The United Kingdom’s response is the ethically dubious decision to build a Wall and to kill or press into labor people who make it there. Defenders like the protagonist, Joseph Kavanagh, are... Read The Wall Summary

The Waste Land

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1922

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Community, Conflict

Tags Lyric Poem

By any measure—influence, scope, durability, reputation—T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” published in 1922, stands as the defining English-language poem of the 20th century. No other single poem is more widely read, more widely quoted, more widely imitated, or more widely interpreted. The poem itself—notoriously difficult to read given Eliot’s vast erudition and determination to upend all inherited assumptions about the function and form of a poem—is largely a war poem, or more precisely, a... Read The Waste Land Summary

The Wave

by Todd Strasser

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Education, Community, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychology, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Psychology, Classic Fiction

The Wave is a 1981 young adult novel by Todd Strasser (originally written under the pseudonym Morton Rhue). A novelization of a teleplay by Johnny Dawkins for the 1981 made-for-TV movie of the same name, the story is a fictionalized account of a 1967 social experiment called “The Third Wave,” which took place at a high school in Palo Alto, California. In the novel, the experiment unfolds at the fictional Gordon High School. The story... Read The Wave Summary

The Wayfinders

by Wade Davis

Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Anthropology, Science & Nature, Technology, Anthropology, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Travel Literature, Religion & Spirituality

This study guide refers to the 2009 House of Anansi Press edition of Wade Davis’s The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. The Wayfinders collects a series of five Massey Lectures that Davis delivered in Canada in 2009. Davis is a Colombian-Canadian anthropologist and ethnobotanist, and the Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. This position, as well as his long anthropological career, has allowed Davis to spend time with many of the... Read The Wayfinders Summary